ianstone
08-19-2010, 04:08 PM
France begins deporting hundreds of gypsies from illegal camps
By Peter Allen (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Peter+Allen)
Last updated at 6:31 PM on 19th August 2010
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The deportation of hundreds of unwanted gypsies from France began today with 79 paid £250 to leave the country.
It comes as their illegal camps are smashed to pieces, with President Nicolas Sarkozy being accused of 'Nazi tactics'. A plane is due to leave Paris today with men, women and children who will be flown to their home country of Romania.
All are EU citizens, yet Mr Sarkozy feels there will be no challenge to their deportations through the courts.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/19/article-1304416-0AD8AD31000005DC-603_634x507.jpg French police officers guard a group of Gypsies enroute to Bucharest, Romania
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/19/article-1304416-0AD8A39D000005DC-740_634x562.jpg A Roma man, wearing a accordion on his back, disembarks a bus at the Saint Exupery airport
He hopes that some 700 Roma will be flown out of the country by the end of August, with more following in the months ahead. The gypsies involved in the 'voluntary return procedure' will arrive in Bucharest later on a regular flight.
France intends to fly 132 more to Timisoara, in western Romania, and Bucharest on Friday. A government spokesman said Roma camps were 'sources of illegal trafficking, of profoundly shocking living standards, of exploitation of children for begging, of prostitution and crime'.
The spokesman added that the demolitions and expulsions 'fully conform with European rules and do not in any way affect the freedom of movement for EU citizens, as defined by treaties'.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/19/article-1304416-0AD848B5000005DC-870_634x387.jpg On the way: A Roma woman named Georgineta holds her passport and boarding documents and says good-bye to her grandson before taking her flight to Romania today
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/19/article-1304416-0AD84487000005DC-236_634x396.jpg Families wait to board their flight at the airport today as part of the programme
Each gypsy will be given 300 euros in cash - around £250 - while each child will get 100 euros. Asked what would prevent the gypsies returning later on, the spokesman said 'nothing'.
More than 50 camps have already been demolished, with residents moving into temporary shelters.
But opposition MPs, human rights groups and Romania politicians have accused him of xenophobia, saying that he is trying to cover up his mismanagement of the country by picking on law-abiding immigrants.
Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi said: 'I am worried about the risks of populist and xenophobic reactions to what is going on during an economic crisis.'
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/19/article-1304416-0AD8D18A000005DC-407_634x330.jpg A Blue Air charter flight carrying Roma who have been expelled from France is seen on the runway at the Saint-Exupery airport of Lyon, in Satolas, today
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/19/article-1304416-0AD8F3DB000005DC-4_634x319.jpg Meanwhile: Makeshift shacks are being destroyed after gypsies were evacuated an illegal squat in Saint Martin d'Heres today
Krasimir Kanev, of the Helsinki Committee rights group in Bulgaria, said 'the measures being taken against a single ethnic group are extremely worrying'.
And Ilona Tomova, of the Bulgarian Academy of Science, told French news agency AFP she was 'saddened that France, the symbol of democracy, was contributing to the stigmatisation of the Roma'.
Gypsies have lived in France for hundreds of years, with many part of long established communities. The European Commission said it was following the situation 'extremely closely indeed', said a spokesman, saying that any breaches of EU law would be punished.
There are currently around 15,000 Gypsies and Roma of Eastern European origin in France.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1304416/France-begins-deporting-hundreds-Roma-gypsies-illegal-camps.html#ixzz0x5I5N1rS
By Peter Allen (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Peter+Allen)
Last updated at 6:31 PM on 19th August 2010
Comments (51) (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1304416/France-begins-deporting-hundreds-Roma-gypsies-illegal-camps.html#comments)
Add to My Stories (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1304416/France-begins-deporting-hundreds-Roma-gypsies-illegal-camps.html)
The deportation of hundreds of unwanted gypsies from France began today with 79 paid £250 to leave the country.
It comes as their illegal camps are smashed to pieces, with President Nicolas Sarkozy being accused of 'Nazi tactics'. A plane is due to leave Paris today with men, women and children who will be flown to their home country of Romania.
All are EU citizens, yet Mr Sarkozy feels there will be no challenge to their deportations through the courts.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/19/article-1304416-0AD8AD31000005DC-603_634x507.jpg French police officers guard a group of Gypsies enroute to Bucharest, Romania
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/19/article-1304416-0AD8A39D000005DC-740_634x562.jpg A Roma man, wearing a accordion on his back, disembarks a bus at the Saint Exupery airport
He hopes that some 700 Roma will be flown out of the country by the end of August, with more following in the months ahead. The gypsies involved in the 'voluntary return procedure' will arrive in Bucharest later on a regular flight.
France intends to fly 132 more to Timisoara, in western Romania, and Bucharest on Friday. A government spokesman said Roma camps were 'sources of illegal trafficking, of profoundly shocking living standards, of exploitation of children for begging, of prostitution and crime'.
The spokesman added that the demolitions and expulsions 'fully conform with European rules and do not in any way affect the freedom of movement for EU citizens, as defined by treaties'.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/19/article-1304416-0AD848B5000005DC-870_634x387.jpg On the way: A Roma woman named Georgineta holds her passport and boarding documents and says good-bye to her grandson before taking her flight to Romania today
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/19/article-1304416-0AD84487000005DC-236_634x396.jpg Families wait to board their flight at the airport today as part of the programme
Each gypsy will be given 300 euros in cash - around £250 - while each child will get 100 euros. Asked what would prevent the gypsies returning later on, the spokesman said 'nothing'.
More than 50 camps have already been demolished, with residents moving into temporary shelters.
But opposition MPs, human rights groups and Romania politicians have accused him of xenophobia, saying that he is trying to cover up his mismanagement of the country by picking on law-abiding immigrants.
Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi said: 'I am worried about the risks of populist and xenophobic reactions to what is going on during an economic crisis.'
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/19/article-1304416-0AD8D18A000005DC-407_634x330.jpg A Blue Air charter flight carrying Roma who have been expelled from France is seen on the runway at the Saint-Exupery airport of Lyon, in Satolas, today
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/19/article-1304416-0AD8F3DB000005DC-4_634x319.jpg Meanwhile: Makeshift shacks are being destroyed after gypsies were evacuated an illegal squat in Saint Martin d'Heres today
Krasimir Kanev, of the Helsinki Committee rights group in Bulgaria, said 'the measures being taken against a single ethnic group are extremely worrying'.
And Ilona Tomova, of the Bulgarian Academy of Science, told French news agency AFP she was 'saddened that France, the symbol of democracy, was contributing to the stigmatisation of the Roma'.
Gypsies have lived in France for hundreds of years, with many part of long established communities. The European Commission said it was following the situation 'extremely closely indeed', said a spokesman, saying that any breaches of EU law would be punished.
There are currently around 15,000 Gypsies and Roma of Eastern European origin in France.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1304416/France-begins-deporting-hundreds-Roma-gypsies-illegal-camps.html#ixzz0x5I5N1rS